D-Day saved world from evil: Obama

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France, (Reuters/AFP) - US President Barack Obama paid homage to the heroes of D-Day on Saturday, saying their assault on Normandys beaches exactly 65 years ago had helped save the world from evil and tyranny.
Addressing stooped, white-haired veterans, Obama said the Second World War represented a special moment in history when nations fought together to battle a murderous ideology.
We live in a world of competing beliefs and claims about what is true, Obama said. In such a world, it is rare for a struggle to emerge that speaks to something universal about humanity. The Second World War did that.
His visit to Normandy came at the end of a rapid tour through Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Germany and France, where Obama has tried to reach out to the Muslim world and press for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Speaking in a giant US military cemetery at Colleville, where 9,387 American soldiers lie, Obama said the war against Nazi Germany laid the way for years of peace and prosperity.
It was unknowable then, but so much of the progress that would define the twentieth century, on both sides of the Atlantic, came down to the battle for a slice of beach only six miles long and two miles wide, he said.
We will never forget the pain or the extent of the suffering and may we never renounce the dream of peace and justice for humanity, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said alongside Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who joined Obama at the ceremony held under bright skies - a stark contrast to the winds and rain that marked D-Day. The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, also attended the ceremony.
Earlier on Saturday US President Obama he held talks with his French counterpart Sarkozy, where the two said they were determined to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Obama also promised an uncompromising stance against North Korea, which tested a nuclear bomb last month.
The US President urged Europe on Saturday to reach out to Muslims around the world as he again disagreed with French President Nicolas Sarkozy over Turkeys bid to join the European Union.
Ive said publicly that I think Turkish membership of the EU would be important, Obama told reporters at a joint news conference with Sarkozy.
I think that Europe and France have a role to play just as the US does, to send a signal to Muslims around the world that we welcome and want their participation in a world community that is peaceful, that is prosperous, that is developing in favour of all people.
Sarkozy insisted that he and Obama agreed on the general principle of friendship with Turkey, but said France would continue to oppose Turkish membership of the European Union.
The two leaders also differed on Obamas call for powers like France to lift bans on Muslim women wearing religious headscarves in state schools and certain government jobs.
My general view is that most effective way to integrate people of all faiths is to not try to suppress their traditions, but rather to open up opportunities, Obama explained.
Sarkozy said he had found Obamas speech remarkable and that he agreed on the need to end what he called the clash of cultures between East and West, but again said France would go a different way.
Obama said North Koreas nuclear weapon test had been extraordinarily provocative and that it would be profoundly dangerous for Iran to get a nuclear bomb. The French President insisted that he and Obama were united in wanting to stop Iran developing a nuclear weapon.
Sarkozy, who met Irans Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Wednesday, said, Iran has the right to civilian nuclear power but not a military nuclear capability. And they must understand that. President Obama said it was vital to break the stalemate in the Middle East peace process, saying all sides had to recognise that their fate was inextricably linked.